Editing Concho County, Texas (section)

==History==
In the 1800s, [[Paleo-Indians]] lived in the county and left behind archaeological remains of a burned-rock [[midden]]. [[Athabaskan language|Athabascan]]-speaking Indians associated with the pre-horse [[Plains Indians|Plains]] culture live in this part of Texas. Later native inhabitants included [[Suma-Jumano|Jumano]], [[Tonkawa]], [[Comanche]] and [[Lipan Apache people|Lipan Apache]].<ref name="Concho County, Texas">{{cite web|last=Standifer|first=Mary M|title=Concho County, Texas|url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcc21|work=Handbook of Texas Online|publisher=Texas State Historical Association|access-date=November 30, 2010}}</ref>

In 1847, [[John O. Meusebach]] sent surveyors into the area. In 1849, [[Robert Neighbors|Robert Simpson Neighbors]] led a small expedition through the area.<ref name="Concho County, Texas" />

The [[Texas Legislature]] formed Concho County from [[Bexar County, Texas|Bexar County]] in 1858.<ref name="Concho County, Texas" />

In 1874, [[Ranald S. Mackenzie]] led a campaign to drive out the remaining native peoples and established the Mackenzie Trail.<ref name="Concho County, Texas" /> The county seat was formally established and named [[Paint Rock, Texas|Paint Rock]] after the nearby pictographs.<ref>{{cite web |title=Paint Rock Pictographs |url=http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/plateaus/images/he4.html |publisher=Texas Beyond History|access-date=November 30, 2010}}</ref> The [[Eden, Texas|Eden]] community was established in 1882.<ref>{{cite web|title=Eden, Texas|url=http://www.texasescapes.com/TexasPanhandleTowns/EdenTexas/EdenTexas.htm|work=Texas Escapes|publisher=Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC|access-date=November 30, 2010}}</ref> In 1909, the community of [[Lowake, Texas|Lowake]] was established.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lowake, Texas|url=http://www.texasescapes.com/TexasTowns/LowakeTexas/LowakeTexas.htm|work=Texas Escapes|publisher=Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC|access-date=November 30, 2010}}</ref>

=== Railroad development ===
Railroads came to the county first in 1910, with the Concho, San Saba and Llano Valley railroad being completed to Paint Rock. The Fort Worth and Rio Grande Railway was completed across the southeastern corner of the county in 1911, and the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe railroad finished a line to Eden in 1912.<ref name="Concho County, Texas" />

By 1930, the area had 449 owner-operated farms and 682 tenant-operated farms, of whom 619 were sharecroppers.<ref name="Concho County, Texas" />

In 1940, Concho County became part of a soil-conservation district.<ref name="Concho County, Texas" /> In 1985, the [[Texas Commission on Environmental Quality|Texas Water Commission]] granted permission to impound {{convert|554000|acre.ft}} of water on the Colorado River at Stacy, to create the [[O.H. Ivie Lake|O. H. Ivie Reservoir]].<ref>{{cite web|title=O. H. Ivie Reservoir|url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/roogh|work=Handbook of Texas Online|publisher=Texas State Historical Association|access-date=November 30, 2010}}</ref>

In 1988, Concho County was the leading sheep-producing county in Texas.<ref name="Concho County, Texas" />